This paper explores the use of iron in the Late Bronze Age and the earliest Iron Age (c. 1100–300 BC) in south-eastern Sweden, with a focus on the final Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age I. The aim is to study how early iron was used, valued and perceived, particularly in relation to pre-existing bronze and gold. Choosing iron for certain object types, such as dress attributes and arm rings, and in key symbols, notably the spiral, suggests an appreciation for its metallic shine and colour in contrast to bronze. This silvery lustre was in some cases exploited intentionally, and may sometimes have been associated with the moon in a celestial mythology. The lunar connection might have been accentuated by the origin of iron from bodies of water, which were surrounded by strong beliefs and were often the focus of sacrificial depositions in this period. The qualities sought after in iron during the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition were in some ways different from those appreciated later in Iron Age and historical times. It is necessary to further consider early iron in its contemporary setting without comparison to the ‘successful’ adaptation in the late Pre-Roman Iron Age onwards.

本文探讨了瑞典东南部青铜时代晚期和最早的铁器时代（约公元前 1100-300 年）对铁的使用，重点关注最终的青铜时代和前罗马铁器时代 I。目的是研究早期铁是如何被使用、估价和感知的，特别是与先前存在的青铜和黄金有关。为某些对象类型选择铁，例如礼服属性和臂环，以及关键符号，特别是螺旋，表明其金属光泽和颜色与青铜相比的欣赏。这种银色光泽在某些情况下是被有意利用的，有时可能与天体神话中的月亮有关。月球的联系可能因水体中铁的起源而更加突出，这些水体被强烈的信仰所包围，并且通常是这一时期祭祀沉积的焦点。在青铜时代-铁器时代过渡期间，铁所追求的品质在某些方面不同于铁器时代后期和历史时期所欣赏的品质。有必要进一步考虑当代环境中的早期铁器，而不是与前罗马铁器时代晚期的“成功”改编相比较。